Greetings, St. Paul’s! I am very honored to be joining you during this interim period, following Martin’s outstanding and renowned decades-long tenure. Having played many an Evensong for you over the past few years, I know first-hand how much I look forward to playing your pipe organ. But I’m also very excited to work with your superb choir program, for whom I have been privileged to write some music over the past two years. The reputation of your music program, hard-earned and fully justifiable, is known throughout the Church. Many thanks to Seonjeong, Michael and Rich for all that they have done to keep your music-making in top shape this spring and summer. Thanks also to Brooks, Kathleen, Jen, Wayne and the entire staff for their hospitality and guidance, especially during this “season of on-boarding” and I look forward to meeting you all in the months ahead!
Rehearsals for our choristers and our adult singers begin the week after Labor Day, but the pre-planning for all that is happening right now. Our beautiful new music suite is being prepared for full occupancy, our huge library is being organized, schedules are being hammered out, auditions are being held – a flurry of activity to get us in gear for the season ahead.
Among my goals over the next several months is to further strengthen the organized lay involvement around the various aspects of our program. I’d like to see an active parent guild to support our young choristers; a team of officers to help with the running of the adult choirs; an expanded effort to support the totality of the music here (especially with its outreach to the wider community), through the continued empowering of a Friends of Music board; and the emergence of some organization around our alumni choristers, many of whom come back to sing every December but could also be enlisted to help in many other ways.
One of the most glorious aspects of the Cathedral’s music – right up there with your resplendent acoustic, your heroic organ, your tradition of weekly Evensong, etc. – is your chorister program. Among Anglicanism’s gifts to Christian culture is our celebrated tradition of using young voices on the “top line.” The religious inculturation (we want our Church to grow!), the musical education (especially in a time of decreased musical offerings in our schools) and the training in leadership (serving on the front line of elevated Christian worship shapes young people to be strong and compassionate leaders) are all important reasons to support this ancient yet ever-evolving tradition. St. Paul’s has been known over the decades for the attention it has paid to this activity. And it will be a serious draw for future candidates for the permanent director of music position. Many of my younger colleagues are immensely excited by this tradition, in general, and about how it has played out here in San Diego, in particular.
Together, we can hand over the reins of musical leadership in this lively and committed community when the right time comes, knowing we have done our level best to firm our foundations, build our community and deepen our faithful service.
Bruce Neswick
